MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Back in early March, Tony Ferguson was scheduled for an interim lightweight title fight with undefeated Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov. With Nurmagomedov now recovering from the issues that forced him out of the fight, and sidelined by the religious obligations presented by Ramadan, Ferguson has been forced to look elsewhere in the hunt for his next opponent. That search has led him to MMA superstar Nate Diaz. Ferguson made his latest callout of Diaz, who has not been seen in action since he lost a decision to Conor McGregor in August, on the 5ive Rounds Podcast (via MMAFighting.com).

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Last weekend, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Nashville, Tennessee, rising welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry scored a veritable knockout of the year contender over the veteran Jake Ellenberger. This win – which marks his first over a ranked UFC welterweight – sets him up for more big tests inside the UFC welterweight division. He’s got some ideas to that end.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Shortly after his destruction of Corey Anderson, which occurred in mid-March, British UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa made a surprise call for a boxing match with fellow Londoner David Haye. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Manuwa explained the reason for this callout.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

It’s no secret that UFC commentator Joe Rogan has a very extensive background in traditional martial arts. The long standing UFC commentator holds national TaeKwonDo championships in addition to a 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu black belt under Eddie Bravo. In addition, Rogan has been seen on camera teaching moves from 10th Planet JiuJitsu techniques to TaeKwonDo kicks, and was seen in a viral video teaching Georges St-Pierre his signature spinning back kick.

Russell Ess - April 26, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is set to make his UFC welterweight debut on June 17 against #11 UFC ranked welterweight Tarec Saffiedine at UFC Fight Night 111. The fight takes place in at Singapore Indoor Stadium and although dos Anjos hails from Brazil and is currently living in California, Singapore is another home away from home for the former champion.

Russell Ess - April 26, 2017

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell retired back in 2010 after a long and celebrated career in mixed martial arts. With coming up on seven years since his last fight in the UFC Octagon, “The Iceman” is still keeping in shape and hasn’t let the retired life take him away from the gym.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

https://youtu.be/5i3DC_PwwYk This past weekend in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Nashville’, #4 ranked featherweight Cub Swanson picked up a unanimous decision win over SBG Ireland’s Artem Lobov in the main event of what proved to be a stellar card.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

UFC prospect Mickey Gall may be the least experienced fighter on the UFC roster, however the young prospect quickly made a name for himself in 2016 when he picked up three straight submission wins. Gall was initially brought into the UFC to fight former WWE champion CM Punk in Punk’s highly anticipated UFC debut, however after a back injury delayed Punk’s UFC debut, Gall fought Mike Jackson in his UFC debut, where he picked up a 45 second submission win over Jackson.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

Bellator MMA’s Michael Page possesses arguably one of the most impressive highlight reels in MMA today. The British star has managed to rack up an impressive 12-0 professional record while racking up numerous highlights reel knockouts, most notably his flying knee KO win over Cyborg Santos nearly a year ago. While Michael Page has remained under the Bellator MMA banner over the last three years, ‘Venom’ has just two fights left on his Bellator MMA contract, and admittedly, he isn’t quite sure what will be his next move.

Russell Ess - April 26, 2017

Former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is set to return to fighting in the UFC after taking a break for over three years from competing in the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2017

UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is one of the fastest rising stars in MMA – but don’t expect him to be adopting the Dan Bilzerian playboy lifestyle. The bantamweight king is now engaged to his long time girlfriend, Danny Pimsanguan. Pimsanguan announced her engagement to Garbrandt on her Instagram account. Garbrandt then shared this post on his own Instagram account, calling her “the future Mrs. Garbrandt.”

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

It was fun learning and sparring with the best. It's great to expand your knowledge whatever discipline you practice. You can never learn enough or better yourself in life and also your craft. Thanks again @lomachenkovasiliy for allowing me in to your training camp. Anyone want to see the entire sparring session? 😉 #lomachenko A post shared by tjdillashaw (@tjdillashaw) on Apr 26, 2017 at 8:41am PDT

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2017

These days, weight cutting is a hot-button issue in MMA. This longstanding practice has left us with many cancelled fights, and worse still, many unhealthy fighters, some of whom have fainted or had to be hospitalized while trying desperately to sweat out water weight. One of the worst cuts in recent memory occurred in 2014, when former bantamweight champion Renan Barao was admitted to a hospital due to a disastrous cut for a rematch with TJ Dillashaw. This brutal cut to bantamweight, along with another decisive loss to Dillashaw in their eventual rematch, drove Barao up to the 145-pound featherweight division, where the cut would be less severe.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2017

Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw used to train together at Team Alpha Male. Now, they don’t. Instead, they seem to share a real, reciprocal disdain for one another – a disdain that will come to a head when they battle for the divisional title at UFC 213 this July. Before they battle for gold at UFC 213, Garbrandt and Dillashaw are serving as rival coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. This platform, when paired with the power of social media, is giving them ample opportunity to take their beef to new heights.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

Throughout the course of the UFC’s buyout, fight fans were consistently in awe of the high figures being offered to the UFC. Ultimately of course, the Fertitta brothers sold the promotion for $4 billion to WME-IMG. Interestingly enough however, UFC President Dana White has now revealed that the Fertittas received an offer to purchase the promotion for $5 billion. He went on to explain that not one, but two groups game forward and offered more money than WME-IMG, however the Fertitta brothers were adamant that the buyer share a similar vision for the promotion.

bjpenndotcom - April 26, 2017

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm has hit a bit of a rough patch since her iconic UFC 193 knockout win over Ronda Rousey. Following her win over Rousey, Holm stepped into the Octagon with Miesha Tate in the co-main event of UFC 196, where she hoped to make her first successful title defense. Tate played spoiler to Holm’s plans as she picked up a 5th round submission win to claim the UFC title. In her next fight, Holm fought fellow elite level striker Valentina Shevchenko, who handed Holm a decision loss. Most recently, Holm stepped into the Octagon with Germaine De Randamie at UFC 208 to compete for the inaugural women’s featherweight title. Ultimately, despite some controversial blows from De Randamie, the Dutch striker was awarded the unanimous decision, and the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title, handing Holm her third straight loss.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2017

Late last year, New York’s Al Iaquinta withdrew from the stacked UFC 205, citing a contract dispute with the UFC. This dispute continued over the coming weeks, until Iaquinta opted to hang up the gloves, and focus on a burgeoning real estate career. Thankfully for Iaquinta fans, this retirement was short-lived. Over the weekend, the New Yorker returned to the cage to become the first man to legitimately knock out Diego Sanchez, putting the veteran down with punches in the first round.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2017

Earlier this year, when the UFC touched down in London, England, undefeated lightweight prospect Marc Diakiese picked up one of the best knockouts of 2017 thus far, one-punching Teemu Packalen just 30 seconds into the first round of the fight. With this win, Diakiese moved to an impressive 12-0, and set himself up for a big step up in competition. For a time, it looked as though he’d get that step up in competition, as he and established lightweight striker Paul Felder began engaging in a heated war of words in interviews and on social media.